ARC 📖 Review: We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: September 23, 2025.

I think reading the two Bunny books back to back wasn’t a good idea. I was sick of the fever dream writing style by the time I was about 40% into this one. I enjoyed hearing the other sides of the story, but I feel like Bunny didn’t really need a sequel. I can’t wait to see what others think of this one!

Thank you @netgalley and @_simonelement for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐰❤️🪓

Samantha Mackey, now a successful author, is kidnapped by her former MFA classmates—the creepy, cult-like Bunnies—who are angry about how she portrayed them in her book. As they retell their twisted origin story revealing the birth of their creative powers and the bizarre, violent rituals that shaped them.

#bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookish #booknerd #read #booklover #booklife #bookreview #books #booksandcoffee #reading #netgalley #bookadict

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book. I love the first Bunny so much and was so excited for this one! It was fun and my favorite parts were sweet baby Aerius’ chapters. It didn’t grab me as much as the original book but it was still fun and enjoyable.

What a wild ride. I liked this one even more than the first and I loved the first! The perspectives of the Bunnies was my favorite. Each as unreliable as the next and the tone was so fun. I did feel the Aerius chapters dragged a bit, but the story was still so compelling. Mona Awad's writing and voice is unlike anything I've read. I have to imagine she had the time of her life writing from all of these different perspectives. It was a fun and unexpected addition to an already great story. And the ending...of course I did not expect it. Loved and would recommend to anyone looking for a weird little book that feels like Mean Girls with murder.

“ Mona Awad has such a beautiful way of writing a creepy, nerve wracking, and captivating story. I loved this book even more than I loved Bunny. I found myself pausing at several points in the story and questioning real life through the lenses of Bunnies. This story explores what it means to be creative and to create… the good, the bad, the ugly, the destructive. How creation literally takes so much out of the creator, the amount of their heart they pour into their creations.

You truly get to see a different side of the four Bunnies from the original story as they each take their turn talking to Samantha about her published work and what “really” occurred. Even more so into their inner circle, and their true feelings for one another. A beautiful and gripping tale of transformative love, friendships, and power. And quite frankly, the extent one would go to keep their power.

I can’t praise Mona Awad’s writing enough, honestly books like We Love You, Bunny is the exact reason I became a reader and an aspiring author. Mona’s ability to tie her writing into perfect little bows for her readers never fails to amaze me. Her stories are captivating from beginning to end. And this story is the perfect exploration into Dark Academia and the creative processes.

If I had more stars to give on Good Reads, I would. Hands down one of my favorite reads of the year. I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copy once it’s released. Thank you so much NetGalley and publishers for gifting me an E-ARC of this book. And thank you Mona, for being the writer you are. This work just solidified, even more than before, your spot of my fav author list. “



*the below contains spoilers*

Notes not mentioned on public review to avoid spoiling it for future readers: The way the story from Aerius’s POV really captured these raw emotions of creativity and finding your way, and seeing it through the lenses of someone experiencing “reality” for the first time was so captivating and engaging. Even the way he wrote and the spelling he used, for example “poet tree”, was so engaging and made his story feel SO incredibly real. I also loved Jonah being more involved in the story. And honestly the connections that Aerius had with all department in the school was really interesting. Aerius playing a role as “muse” for so many people in different outlets- whether poet or fiction, really made a connection for me what real life creativity looks and feels like. I was hanging on his every word honestly. Bravo- I can’t rave enough about this book!

It is nearly impossible to write standalone follow-up that is both a sequel and prequel, especially when the original novel is as weird and wonderful as Bunny. Somehow, Mona Awad pulls it off effortlessly.

There is something so hauntingly intoxicating about Mona’s writing style. The second person narrative was so gripping & I truly couldn’t look away. Whenever I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it. This book was just as sick and twisted (in a good way lol) as the original book, Bunny. There were several WTF moments but sometimes, with books like these, I don’t mind that!

3.75 rounded up. Unfortunately, this did not capture me the way ‘Bunny’ did, but pulling off both a prequel and a sequel is a difficult thing to do and Mona Awad did it perfectly. Her writing has always been reminiscent of fairy tales and this one is no exception—maybe even more so than her other works. The split POVs was clever and the ability to juggle 5 (6?) narratives spoke to her prowess as an author. She seamlessly combines conversations about consent, interpersonal conflict, morality, parasocial behavior, and the desire to create something groundbreaking. The Smut Salon stays both pink and bloody in this follow-up and it was a delight hearing from my worsties again. As always, although this isn’t my favorite of hers, I will gladly throw a rose on her stage. Thank you, Bunny. We love you.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to see this book available on NetGalley. I LOVE MONA AWAD. Bunny was such an incredible read, We Love You, Bunny was a perfect follow-up. It's just as funny and insane fever dream. READ THIS BOOK.

We hear the Bunnies side of the story as they narrate to the kidnapped Sam, upset with how they were portrayed in her critically acclaimed new novel.

It’s been a long time since I read Bunny but this sequel brought back its zaniness and superb writing. Awad has a unique way of writing that hooks you write away. The characters, of which we are already familiar, are so delightfully fun. I loved that the perspective changes as we go through the same story. It adds personality and variety. Bunny fans will definitely love this one!

“Tap the Wand and bring it to vivid life. Making something beautiful is, after all, the best revenge.”

We Love You Bunny comes out 9/23.

Can I just say wow?! Mona Awad has done it again. One of the most creative and mind-bending stories I've read, and a perfect companion novel to the OG Bunny. It really expanded the universe, fleshed out a lot of the side characters, while also introducing new ones. So many unreliable narrators and unlikeable characters, but done so well with nuance and their own zany perspectives that were fun to be lost in. Somehow this book is the perfect blend of fantasy and horror while satirizing the very real struggles of being a writer. Also enjoyed the pop culture references throughout. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Mona Awad can do no wrong for me. I will devour anything she writes. We Love You Bunny was exactly the perfect prequel/sequel to the delicious, weird, darkly funny book that is Bunny. We're immediately transported back into the fever dream of Warren University. I LOVED the structure and multiple narrators/POVs in this book, and especially appreciated Aerius's side of the story. I laughed out loud, cringed, and grimaced my way through this masterpiece. Mona, your writing is enthralling and addictive, and I will recommend it to anyone who asks. Thank you SO much for the opportunity to receive and read this ARC!

In this thrilling sequel, Mona Awad takes readers back to the apex of academia and horror. With a new and unique approach, the narrative of the Bunnies is introduced to readers through second person (i.e. "Bunny's" central character Samantha or the "reader"). "We Love You, Bunny" is a beautiful blend of what was so appealing about the companion novel while keeping readers on their toes. And, what an ending!

Perfect for fans of "Bunny."

This book was absolutely fantastic! The author wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

True to form, Mona Awad’s atmospheric and dreamy writing are a delight to read. She is incredible at writing feverish hallucinations and setting the tone of her books. Narratively, this book is not what I expected. I was hoping for a directly connected prequel to Bunny (2019) but the events of this book are mostly in the months before the events of Bunny (2019). It was nice to get additional backstory on the Bunnies and some surprising POVs from characters briefly mentioned in Bunny (2019). Overall, this book feels like a standalone within the Bunny universe as opposed to a direct prequel.

We Love You, Bunny is a wickedly sharp and gloriously unhinged return to the darkly satirical world introduced in Bunny. With her trademark blend of horror, humor, and high-literary camp, Mona Awad flips the narrative on its bloodied head—giving voice to the eerie, hyper-feminine clique that once lured Samantha Heather Mackey into their surreal creative coven.

This time, Samantha isn’t in control of the story. Gagged and tied, she’s forced to listen as the Bunnies take turns recounting their origin story, and the result is nothing short of mesmerizing. What could have felt like a gimmick becomes a layered, intoxicating reexamination of power, authorship, and the myth of the solitary (usually male) genius. The Bunnies are still saccharine and savage, but now we see their pain, hunger, and surprising vulnerability beneath the glitter and gore.

Awad’s language is as lush and intoxicating as ever—full of sugary menace and hallucinatory detail. The novel gleefully mashes genres: dark academia, fairy tale, body horror, metafiction. It’s a love letter to creation and destruction, the wild places imagination can take us, and the price we pay to make something truly original.

Where Bunny explored what it means to be on the outside looking in when We Love You, Bunny dares to step inside the hive mind—and the result is brilliant. Fans of the first book will be thrilled, but new readers could also enter here and still find themselves seduced and unsettled in equal measure.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plot-Samantha Heather has published her first novel, and done quite well for herself. However, her “friends” from Bunny are not happy with how Sam portrayed them in her book and decide to kidnap her. It’s our turn to hear the Bunnies side of the story.

Positives-I genuinely did not think it could get more fantastical than “Bunny”, but I was proven wrong. The entire book is basically continuous unhinged monologue. Feeling more like fanfic than anything else, readers will have a very different experience for book two. While it wasn’t what I expected when I dived into WLYB, this was a unique experience for me. I have never read a book where it was narrated in entirety this way, and I appreciated experiencing something new. I felt like I was inside Mona Awad’s imagination and creative center more than any other book I have read by her.

Criticism-
I was really excited to read a whole new chapter in Bunny world, rather than narrated fanfic. I felt some of the mysterious magic was taken away in WLYB. This was not a bad book, it just didn’t work for me personally.

This was a wild ride from start to finish. I love Awad’s writing and that will never change. This was funny, dark, and surreal. This novel is more surreal than Bunny but still has the humor I crave from reading her backlist.

While she says this is its own book I don’t think you should read this without reading Bunny first (also who wouldn’t want to read that book in the first place).

This did feel a little long and I preferred a characters POV over some others but that is my preference. Thank you for the ARC, I felt so special.

I love Mona Awad, and I loved Bunny, so this was a very anticipated release for me! I tore through Part 1 and couldn’t get enough, but as the book went on I found it harder to keep myself as engaged with the story unfolding in Part 2 and beyond. Overall though, I really appreciated that the story rounded out the world and the characters in a way that added to the Bunnyverse, if you will, in a meaningful way.

I saw some reviews say that this book could stand alone from Bunny, and I don’t know that I agree with that, but either way it’s a really fun prequel/sequel. If you REALLY loved Bunny this is worth a read.

Rounding up from 3.5. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

!!!!new mona awad book!!!!!
!!!!new mona awad writing style!!!!

oh my god i am in love with anything this woman publishes and i cannot wait to reread this and bunny this fall. master of mind-bending litfic.

THANK YOU to the publisher for the e-arc!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

My expectations were high and this didn’t disappoint. I loved the structure of this book, with different POVs - it was cool to hear from other characters. Humorous, weird, creepy, gory, fun, melancholic. What more could I ask for, Bunny?